Playing in the Rain
by encryptedeyes11
Summary: 'There was something about her, a kind of maturity. Rick was proud of himself for knowing that word, his mother had told him what it meant.' Richard Castle and Kate both meet at the playground when they are around six or so.
1. Chapter 1

She was looking up at the sky, drops of water hitting her face, some of them landing on her eyes. She blinked and the drops fell, continuing their journey. It was raining heavily, but strangely enough, there was no lightning or thunder. There were other kids playing tag behind her, but she wanted to savor this moment, as she felt as if nothing would ever be this peaceful. Suddenly, she was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard a voice speak.

"Hey, do you wanna play tag with us?" said a boy, maybe a year or so older than he. He had striking blue eyes and his hair was messy, drenched in water.

"My mom told me not to speak to strangers," she replied.

The boy, however, had not gone away and continued playing with his friends. Instead, he stood beside her and said, "I'm Rick. Richard Rodgers, but just call me Rick." He looked at her, expecting her to introduce herself as he had done. Instead, she frowned and crossed her arms.

The girl continued to look up at the sky, and they stood for several minutes, and the only sounds were the laughter of other children. At last, she couldn't stand the uneasy silence.

"Go away!" she said.

"What if I don't?" he retorted. "What're you gonna do to me?" There was a mischievous glint in his eye, as if he enjoyed seeing her annoyed at him. "Come on, what's your name?"

There was something about this girl, something about her that made her seem _mature_. He was proud of himself for remembering that word, his mother had told him what it had meant.

They stared at each other's eyes, daring the other to look away or back down.

Finally, the girl consented. "Kate. Just call me Kate."

"What, aren't you gonna tell me your last name? What is it? Kate Perry? Kate Nicholson?"

Kate's forehead cinched tighter, getting more and more annoyed by Rick.

"I'm not telling you my last name, _Richard_. Stranger danger, remember?"

"Aww, come on. That name makes me sound old or something. Like I'm a bazillion years old. I'm only 7."

Rick sighed and crossed his arms, matching her stance. "Come on," he said. "Let's go and play. I'll let my friends meet you."

She looked back up at the sky. The rain had lessened ever since they had started talking to each other. _What's the harm?_ She thought. Besides, she had missed playing tag. None of her friends were here, they didn't like the rain like she did.

"Okay." Kate said. "But I'm not it!"


	2. Chapter 2

**This was originally intended to be a one shot, but I am currently blocked with stories I really should update, so this is an attempt at trying to overcome it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle in any way, if I did, there would be more Caskett moments.**

The second time he sees her, he doesn't recognize her.

His mother had just dropped him off, leaving for a last minute theatre rehearsal, and he had just managed to persuade her to dropping him off in Drake's Magic Shop ("Fine, but if you break yet another thing Richard, I for one, am not paying for it," she had said) instead of staying at home, watching reruns of shows he had watched over and over.

So there he was, walking along the aisles of the much loved store, nodding his head in acknowledgement to the store owner, Salman Drake, who nodded in response back to him.

Richard was playing with a prop knife, the kind that retracted its blade when 'stabbed' into someone, when the bell by the door jingled, arousing his attention.

He turned on his heels and looked at the door, his eyes immediately glued to the argument that was unfolding merely a few feet in front of him.

A girl, maybe thirteen or so, dressed in ripped jeans and combat boots with a black leather jacket slung above her shoulder had walked in to the store, with someone behind her, presumably her mother, who was shaking her head at her and sighing.

"Kate, how many times do I need to-"

"Mom, mom, yes, I get it- I need to go and attend the party, 'It's for my own benefit, I need to be exposed more'. But do you _really_ want a 13 year old girl in jeans and sneakers attending a black-tie party for lawyers?" the girl replied.

Her mother, dressed in a sensible purple dress and violet stilettos sighed and looked down condescendingly at her daughter. She, in turn, stared back at her, refusing to back down. After a few moments, her mother gave up at looked at her Movado watch, leaning back on one leg.

"Fine, I'll leave you her," her mother consented. "But I am going to be back in two hours and you can go anywhere, Katie, but you need to be here by then. Don't make me lose my trust."

Kate (which he had figured out was her daughter's name) shot her a Cheshire grin as her mother turned around and walked out the door, her heels clacking against the pavement even though the door was closed.

She sighed and turned around, walking over to the shelf that held an assortment of whoopee cushions and fake vomit, her long ponytail whipping around to follow her quick movements.

Richard kept looking at her, his mind trying to figure out what her story was, why she had such a -let's say rebellious- attitude. Her head spun around quickly, too fast that he was not able to look away fast enough.

Kate's eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed, her hazel eyes (or were they green?) finding his quickly. He gulped audibly, intimidated by her stare, which he thought she probably inherited from her equally daunting mother.

"Need something?" she asked, her high voice piercing through the silence that had befallen through the shop.

In an effort to look away from her strong gaze, he liked around, suddenly noticing that Salman had gone into the room behind the counter, presumably to watch TV. Richard and Kate were the only people in the store and the light filtered through the shelves, casting shadows on the face of the girl in front of him.

"Uh, well, you know, you kind of caught my attention with that find you and your mom had, _Kate_." She raised her eyebrows, unimpressed by the fact that he knew your name. "So why'd you not want to go to a party?"

"Yeah, well, turns out that it's not so fun having to attend a benefit for hours, with nothing to do but talk to some 'highly respected lawyers'," she replied mockingly. "It gets really boring and apparently it is disrespectful to sit in a corner and stare at random people, trying to grab their attention."

Richard laughed, awed by her boldness and fascinated with her incredibly short anecdote.

"So now you know my name," she continued. "Tell me yours."

"Rick."

Kate's eyebrows furrowed once again, something that he found was adorable.

"Are you normally this shy? Come on, I won't bite. Well, unless you want me to." she said.

"Hmm, no not really."

Their conversation steers away into their taste of music, with Rick finding out that she likes The Rites of Spring and the Atlantic Starr, much to his surprise.

They fight and argue over which props are better and which tricks are more captivating. At one point, she mentions at how when she was around six, she had gotten a Lego stuck in her nose because she had tried to us the block in place of something else. The contraption had flung around, the machine flapping around and its parts flying all over the room (and one of them in Kate's nostril).

Their conversation is interrupted when they hear the glass door open and the familiar chime of the bell resounds through the store, alerting them that somebody has entered the room. The duo turned around and they both hear Martha's theatrical voice booming around the spacious room, and behind her Kate's mother (who he had found out that her name was Johanna Beckett, a respected lawyer) trails behind, a smile on her face.

"You will not believe what she did! That snide little girl slipped a laxative into my cranberry juice the night we were performing. The critics that night said that I had said my lines with a special 'urgency'. Of course I had! Her little prank made me go to the bathroom in every act! I barely made it back in time!"

Johanna laughed, tilting her head back, something Richard knew Kate had inherited.

Both the mothers took in the sight of Kate and Richard leaning against a pillar, Rick holding a prop knife.

"Well, well, I see you guys have entertained yourselves, haven't you?" Johanna said, as the teenagers flushed a bright red.

"Did you break anything Richard?" Martha asked. Before her son could answer, she went on. "Oh, Johanna, this is my son, Richard!"

"So this is the little troublemaker. You said he ran into a wall this morning?"

Kate turns to him, an amused grin forming on her face and her eyebrow quirks up. "What's that about?" she asked, a teasing tone audible in her voice.

"You guys have fun?" Johanna's grin also mirrored Kate's and her raised eyebrows were also similar.

All eyes in the room turned to Richard.

"Uhm, well yeah. Well, you know, we just talked about stuff. Well not _stuff, _we just, you know, talked about pranks. And music, you know." He managed to stammer out, his voice fading as an awkward silence fell into the room.

Martha's chuckle only deepened the awkwardness.

"We met on the way here. Apparently, Johanna here saw my performance in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'!" she said, before glancing at Kate and giving her a once over. "Well, this is your daughter isn't it Johanna? She looks great! Looks a lot like you, dear!" she said, as she motioned to a blushing Kate.

Johanna merely chuckled, eyeing the two of them before checking her watch.

"Ah, look at the time! Katie, let's go! We have to go meet your father."

Kate stands up and looks at Rick before extending her hand out to him, who shook her hand, savoring the softness of her skin and her firm grip on his hand.

"Well, nice meeting you," Johanna said, flashing the Rodgers a smile. Kate waved a slender hand at Rick as she left the store, the sound of her mother's heels clicking on the floor.

Martha turned to her son, who was staring at the door with a dreamy expression on his face.

"Nice girl isn't she? Pretty, too."

Rick only looked at the ground.

"Come on, kiddo. Time to go home." She said, waving a hand dramatically as they exited the store.

For the next few weeks, his dreams are filled with images of her, a girl who somehow looked familiar to him.

He spends the rest of his life not making the connection. It is only when he shadows a certain detective when the memory surfaces and he realizes who she is. And when they get married, that's when he tells her.

**I would appreciate reviews and constructive criticism as always!**


End file.
